Some readers here might be interested in the history of the technology that has enabled cryo-EM. One of the key innovations was the development of CMOS direct d

Some readers here might be interested in the history of the technology that has enabled cryo-EM. One of the key innovations was the development of CMOS direct detection devices that are able to detect electrons with extremely high signal to noise ratio, operating very close to the thermal limit of the DDD itself. I think it is an excellent example of the fundamental interdependence of cutting edge research and cutting edge engineering. Some (maybe most?) of the initial research and development [0, 1] on the cameras was done in my grandadvisor's lab. Another part of the story is related to the massive improvements in algorithms that in some cases have enabled nearly real time reconstruction and visualization of viruses from cryo-EM samples (I don't have links for these handy), and the work to increase the resolution of the reconstructions presented in the linked article. 0. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2359769/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2359769/ 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3210420/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3210420/